Panel supports are often used in large areas, such as conference centers and office buildings, to segregate large areas into smaller, separate areas. The panel supports may be linked together to create segregated areas and may hold panels that act as walls between the segregated areas. A large area may then be used as if it were segregated by permanent walls that are part of the permanent structure of a building enclosing the large area. A grouping of linked panel supports may be temporarily installed in the large area or may remain in place permanently in the large area.
Constructing panel supports, placing panels within the panel supports and attaching adjacent panel supports together to create the layout desired for a particular event, in addition to disengaging adjacent panel supports, removing the panels and disassembling the panel supports after the event, can be very time consuming and labor intensive. Panel supports may include additional features besides those necessary to hold the panel, such as, for example, extrusions with slots to hold accessories, that must be separately secured to the panel support. The assembly of panel supports and additional features often requires the use of tools and a skilled labor force that has been trained to perform such tasks. Thus, costs associated with the skilled labor required to assembly and disassemble panel supports for an event can be very high.
In addition, in some instances, such as conferences, temporary exhibits, temporary shows and other temporary events, multiple events are scheduled back-to-back in a single venue. In such cases, the panel supports used for a particular event must be assembled and/or disassembled quickly, which may further increase the labor costs associated with preparing for the event.
In view of the foregoing, minimizing the skill, training and time required to assemble and disassemble the panel support is important in reducing costs associated with an event.